The mixed weather conditions benefitted the pair as they stayed out on their dry tyres before switching to intermediates on lap 34 when the heaviest rain shower of the afternoon arrived. With Michael in sixth position and Nico just two places behind, Nico had the better of the re-start under the safety car on lap 41, and made up two places overtaking Michael and Kobayashi.

Ross Brawn: "We are obviously very pleased with the result today, and particularly with our strategy, which enabled us to achieve a strong points finish which looked difficult after qualifying. Nico and Michael both drove extremely well in testing conditions and kept us entertained on the pit wall although sometimes a little too entertained! But it was all done in good spirit and both drivers brought their cars home to give us as good a weekend as we could have hoped for. The result is very pleasing considering the relative performance of the car at the moment and a morale boost for the team."

Norbert Haug: "Nico, Michael and the team all did a good job today. Starting from 14th position like Nico and coming home in sixth place is very impressive and even more impressive when you start in 21st place like Michael and are in seventh position at the finish line. We adapted to the typical Spa weather circumstances as best we could which was the baseline for scoring points with both cars from very difficult grid positions. It is obvious that we are still lacking speed but this was a much better result than in the previous two races where we didn't perform as well as we did with Nico's podium finish at Silverstone. We are now looking forward to Monza which will be a very special race due to the unique high-speed nature of this circuit. Thank you to everybody in the team for the recovery after qualifying yesterday. These points show that never giving up and being measured and focused are always the right things to do."

Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: What a hectic race with a lot of action in mixed conditions. It was a solid race for Mark, who took no extra risks and did whatever he could to bring the car home for a well deserved second place. Hamilton was too strong for us today and I think second was the best we could achieve. Sebastian had an accident and I think his race was over after that. Congratulations to Kubica, I think to have two Renaults on the podium at this circuit is a great result for us.

Stefano Domenicali: This weekend definitely did not end well for us, even if Felipe's fourth place, at the end of an impeccable and error free race in conditions that were far from easy, is an important result. Fernando saw his race compromised right from the first lap, the unwitting victim of an accident and then, despite fighting his way up the order, he ended up off the track in the sort of incident that can easily happen in a rain-affected race. Apart from that, and any other considerations, we must recognise that our performance in this Grand Prix did not match our expectations and interrupted a positive trend that began a few races ago: we have to understand why immediately and take the necessary countermeasures. The situation in both championships is certainly more difficult, but it is still not impossible for us to reach our targets: for those with short memories, I remember that three years ago, we found ourselves in a much worse situation and we all know how it went in the end.

Chris Dyer: Felipe had a good race, always keeping out of trouble and he made the right choices, bringing home a good result, given our performance level in this Grand Prix, which definitely did not live up to our expectations. However, on the other side of the garage, the mood is one of great disappointment, because the lack of points seriously complicates Fernando's chances in the title fight. His race was immediately an uphill struggle, because of the collision with Barrichello, which meant he had to pit immediately. At that point we took the gamble of fitting intermediate tyres, given that we had nothing to lose, but then we had to bring him in again for dry tyres. It was a good climb up the order, but in the end he went off the track in the wet which ended any last chance of scoring points. Clearly there is much work to do in order to tackle the remaining six races of the season in the best way possible.

Sam Michael, Technical Director: Today was not a good day with Rubens out on the first lap and Nico had a control system problem that compromised the driveability and caused the engine to cut in his pitstop. So looking forward, our pace is improving and we will perform better in the forthcoming races.

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: A fantastic result for the team. Both drivers did an excellent job and it's great to see Robert finish on the podium, which was our target. And it was nice to have the pace to race with the Red Bulls and beat Ferrari, although unfortunately Hamilton was just a bit too quick for us today. Vitaly also drove really well and did well to score some points having started from the back of the grid. So it's a very good day all-round.

Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: Both drivers had great races today and Robert's podium is a good reward for the whole team. Vitaly also drove very well and did a nice job to recover from his disappointing qualifying performance yesterday to score points. This was the last race for these particular V8s and all went well. They didn't miss a beat and the wet conditions this weekend made their life a little bit easier than it might otherwise have been.

When rain fell just two laps into the race Adrian stayed clear of the ensuing chaos and remained out on dry tyres despite a safety car period. On the restart Adrian was able to jump ahead of the Williams of Hulkenberg into seventh and when Vettel and Button collided he was elevated to fifth. He pitted for hard tyres on lap 21 but was able to cruise past Kobayashi and then Schumacher to regain fifth. On lap 35 heavy rain started to fall and Adrian pitted for intermediate tyres. When Alonso spun on lap 38 another safety car period was called, allowing the German to move closer to the leaders. He finished the 44 lap race only nine seconds from eventual winner Lewis Hamilton.

Tonio made a great start from P12 on the grid and was running in ninth until his first stop on lap ten. He left the pits in 13th and gradually worked his way back up the field to close on the points. However on lap 25 Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who had earlier become embroiled in several on track accidents, knocked into the side of the Italian and clipped his front wing. Tonio returned to the pits for a nosechange and dropped down to 14th. When the rain arrived he pitted for extreme tyres and gave a spirited drive to move back up to 11th by the chequered flag.

Otmar Szafnauer, chief operating officer: We're obviously very pleased to be back in the points again today. Both drivers demonstrated a strong race pace and we worked well as a team monitoring the changeable weather conditions. Tonio was unlucky to miss out on the points due to losing his front wing when Vettel ran into him. The points are crucial for the championship at the moment and the pace also bodes well for Monza in a couple of weeks' time.

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "An exciting race and a typically eventful one here in Spa. Neither driver had a great start which meant we lost a few places, and Heikki had a problem when the rain started. We changed him onto intermediates, but were then a little slow in changing him back, but he drove a great race, and was quick at the end in the wet conditions, and he again brought us home best of the new teams. Jarno drove a strong race. He struggled initially with the tyres, but in the middle part of the race his pace was very strong, and it's just a shame that he had a spin in the difficult wet conditions as it would have been nice to have had both cars finish ahead of the other new guys. But despite that, both cars finished and overall this has been a good weekend for the whole team."

Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: "I feel great. I think we achieved what we wanted to do - we got both cars home and we're still ahead of the other new teams. It's a bit unfortunate that Jarno spun out, but it's all part of racing. He recovered well and I think we'll all move on from this point and feel confident we can put in a good performance in Monza, and the remaining races. I think the team did great today and there was maximum effort involved, so well done to everyone. The rain of course threw everything out of sync, but we survived it today and we're really happy."

Dr Colin Kolles, Team Principal: "It was a turbulent and difficult race today with changing conditions. We started on dry tyres and Sakon Yamamoto was in 13th position in the first laps. Bruno Senna got his front wing damaged in the first lap and so we had to change it in his pit stop, when he also went on intermediate tyres. Unfortunately, his rear left suspension failed and he had to retire early in the race. Later, heavy rain was expected and Sakon changed to wet tyres in his second pit stop. I want to thank the mechanics, who did a good job this weekend, especially in the pit stops. Now, we have to focus on the next round in Monza and we hope to show a good performance again."

Peter Sauber, Team Principal: "It was another strong and mature performance by Kamui in very difficult conditions after starting from way down the grid. Also compliments to the team for choosing the right tyre strategy and executing it very well during the pit stops."

James Key, Technical Director: "I'm very pleased we scored some points today after a very difficult day yesterday. It was a race with a lot of changing weather conditions, and the right calls had to be made at the right time. We had three spells of rain all together. The team made the right decisions, and Kamui did an excellent job by controlling the car in these difficult conditions and bringing it home in eighth. He came from a long way behind and made up a lot of positions. With Pedro we tried a slightly different strategy at the end of the race with full wet tyres, because there was a chance of heavier rain. This seemed to work initially, but it looks as if the tyres went off quite quickly, and Pedro couldn't hold on to tenth. All in all a reasonable recovery given the situation we faced yesterday."

The sun was shining while the cars were on the grid, but no sooner had they set off than rain began to fall. The choice whether to stay out or pit for wet tyres was a tricky one, and Timo opted for wets as he had to pit for a new nosecone after taking avoiding action to miss Rubens Barrichello. Lucas, on the other hand, stayed out on slicks.

The track dried quickly and Timo was soon in for slicks again, leaving him in a strong position if the track stayed dry as he no longer had to change tyres. Lucas was hot on the heels of Jarno Trulli for the entire race, and when the rain came again on lap 35, Timo chose extreme wets and Lucas made a late call for the intermediates. A few laps later the safety car came out for a second time, and an exciting finish looked in prospect.

At the restart, Lucas was forced to give way to Heikki Kovalainen who looked to have all four wheels off the circuit, but both Virgin Racing cars gave chase and finished strongly. At the flag, Lucas was 17th and Timo was directly behind him.

John Booth, Team Principal: "I'm very pleased with how the whole team worked over the weekend. We had a massive effort to get Timo's car ready yesterday, and to have both cars run so strongly to the finish demonstrates how far we have come and that we have earned our right to be on the grid. Both Lucas and Timo drove great races, the pitstops went perfectly and I'm very proud of our teamwork. We leave here in a very positive mood and looking forward to a good result in Monza."

Nick Wirth, Technical Director: "An exciting and eventful race for us. We had gambled on a high downforce strategy hoping for a very wet race, but ultimately the rain didn't fall in sufficient quantity for our gamble to fully pay off. Timo was unlucky to lose his front wing and we were forced to pit, but a replacement was not to the same specification because his spare wing was broken in his crash on Friday. Despite this he did a good job catching up with Lucas and Jarno. Unfortunately when the rain came Timo gambled to come in early and fit full wets which just didn't work out for him. On the other hand Lucas's race was smooth and it was another great performance for a rookie in very tricky conditions. We're pleased to get both cars to the finish strongly and let's hope for better luck in the final European race in Monza."

Two safety car periods occurred during the course of the 44 lap race in the Belgian Ardennes forests with numerous incidents taking place throughout the field. Hamilton won after making a great start and surviving a gravel excursion whilst on dry tyres on an increasingly wet track. Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber finished second and Renault F1 Team's Robert Kubica finished third.

Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Once more Spa Francorchamps has provided us with typically difficult weather conditions which gave us a very exciting race. We saw many spectators brave the wet conditions all weekend and they were rewarded with fantastic action. Bridgestone's brand awareness in Europe has been expanded enormously by our participation in Formula 1 over the past 14 years. This was the home Grand Prix for Bridgestone Europe, who are based in Brussels, so we thank them for hosting Bridgestone Motorsport for a final time here in Spa."

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "The Spa weather gave us a very difficult situation, even for our last visit here. This was a very tough day for those on track and those on the pit wall. Spa has such a long lap that you cannot be on the correct tyre for an entire lap as the conditions can vary from very wet to damp to dry over the undulating 7 km of this fabulous track . Judging the level of grip, even when you are not on the correct tyre, is a very important aspect of the art of driving a racing car, so it was a pleasure to watch this art in practice. Even the very best drivers in the world can make mistakes in conditions like we had today, and those who were able to minimise their mistakes were able to achieve good results. Congratulations to Lewis for his win, accomplished despite a run through a gravel trap using dry tyres on a wet section of the track. Making a perfect tyre is a very difficult challenge, however the four tyres we had here today covered the range of conditions we experienced admirably and we thank our technicians in Tokyo for their fine efforts to develop such good tyres."